Chapter 11

Dealing with Field Work

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1
Learning Objectives
To learn about total error and how nonsampling
error is related to it
To understand the sources of data collection errors
and how to minimize them
To learn about the various types of nonresponse
error and how to calculate response rate to
measure nonresponse error
To become acquainted with data quality errors
and how to handle them

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Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 11-3
Dealing with Field Work
There are two main types of errors in survey
research:
Sampling error
Nonsampling error
Nonsampling error includes all errors in a survey
except those due to the sampling plan or sample
size.

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Nonsampling Error
Nonsampling error includes:
All types of nonresponse error
Data gathering errors
Data handling errors
Data analysis errors
Interpretation errors

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Data Collection
Data collection is the phase of the marketing
research process during which respondents
provide their answers or information to inquiries
posed to them by the researcher.

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Possible Errors in
Field Data Collection
Fieldworker error: errors committed by the
persons who administer the questionnaires
Respondent error: errors committed on the part
of the respondent
Errors may be either intentional or unintentional.

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Intentional Fieldworker Errors
Intentional fieldworker error: errors committed
when a data collection person willfully violates the
data collection requirements set forth by the
researcher

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Intentional Fieldworker Errors
Interviewer cheating occurs when the
interviewer intentionally misrepresents
respondents.
Leading respondents occurs when the
interviewer influences respondent’s answers
through wording, voice inflection, or body
language.

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Unintentional Fieldworker Error
Unintentional fieldworker error: errors
committed when an interviewer believes he or she
is performing correctly

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Unintentional Fieldworker Error
Interviewer personal characteristics occurs
because of the interviewer’s personal
characteristics such as accent, sex, and demeanor.
Interviewer misunderstanding occurs when the
interviewer believes he or she knows how to
administer a survey but instead does it incorrectly.
Fatigue-related mistakes occur when the
interviewer becomes tired.

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Intentional Respondent Error
Intentional respondent error: errors committed
when there are respondents who willfully
misrepresent themselves in surveys

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Intentional Respondent Error
 Falsehoods occur when respondents fail to tell
the truth in surveys.
 Nonresponse occurs when the prospective
respondent fails to take part in a survey or to
answer specific questions on the survey.

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Unintentional Respondent Error
Unintentional respondent error: errors
committed when a respondent gives a response
that is not valid but that he or she believes is the
truth

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Unintentional Respondent Error
Respondent misunderstanding occurs when a
respondent gives an answer without
comprehending the question and/or the
accompanying instructions.
Guessing occurs when a respondent gives an
answer when he or she is uncertain of its accuracy.

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Unintentional Respondent Error
Attention loss occurs when a respondent’s interest
in the survey wanes.
Distractions (such as interruptions) may occur
while questionnaire administration takes place.
Fatigue occurs when a respondent becomes tired
of participating in a survey.

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How to Control Data Collection Errors:
Fieldworkers

Table 11.2 How to Control Data-Collection Errors

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How to Control Data Collection Errors:
Fieldworkers

Table 11.2, cont. How to Control Data-Collection Errors

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Field Data Collection Quality Controls
Control of intentional fieldworker error
Supervision uses administrators to oversee the
work of field data collection workers.
Validation verifies that the interviewer did the
work.

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Field Data Collection Quality Controls
Control of unintentional fieldworker error
Orientation sessions are meetings in which
the supervisor introduces the survey and
questionnaire administration.
Role-playing sessions are dry runs or dress
rehearsals of the questionnaire with the
supervisor or some other interviewer playing the
respondent’s role.

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Field Data Collection Quality Controls
Control of intentional respondent error
Anonymity occurs when the respondent is
assured that his or her name will not be
associated with his or her answers.
Confidentiality occurs when the respondent is
given assurances that his or her answers will
remain private. Both assurances are believed to
be helpful in forestalling falsehoods.

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Field Data Collection Quality Controls
Control of intentional respondent error
One tactic for reducing falsehoods and
nonresponse error is the use of incentives,
which are cash payments, gifts, or something
of value promised to respondents in return for
their participation.

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Field Data Collection Quality Controls
Control of intentional respondent error
Another approach for reducing falsehoods is the
use of validation checks, in which information
provided by a respondent is confirmed during
the interview.
A third-person technique can be used in a
question, in which instead of directly quizzing
the respondent, the question is couched in
terms of a third person who is similar to the
respondent.
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Control of Unintentional Respondent
Error
Well-drafted questionnaire instructions and
examples are commonly used as a way of avoiding
respondent confusion.

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Control of Unintentional Respondent
Error
The researcher can switch the positions of a few
items on a scale, called reversals of scale end-
points, instead of putting all of the negative
adjectives on one side and all the positive ones on
the other side.
Prompters are used to keep respondents on task
and alert.

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Data Collection Errors with
Online Surveys
Multiple submissions by the same respondent
Bogus respondents and/or responses
Misrepresentation of the population

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Nonresponse Error
Nonresponse: failure on the part of a prospective
respondent to take part in a survey or to answer
specific questions on the survey

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Nonresponse Error
Refusals to participate in survey
Break-offs during the interview
Refusals to answer certain questions (item
omissions)

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Refusals to Participate
A refusal occurs when a potential respondent
declines to take part in the survey. Refusal rates
differ by area of the country as well as by
demographics.

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Break-Offs During the Interview
A break-off occurs when a respondent reaches a
certain point and then decides not to answer any
more questions in the survey.

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Refusals to Answer Specific
Questions
Item omission is the phrase sometimes used to
identify the percentage of the sample that did not
answer a particular question.

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Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 11-32
What Is a Completed Interview?
The marketing researcher must define what is a
“completed” interview.
A completed interview is often defined as one in
which all the primary questions have been
answered.

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Measuring Nonresponse Error
The marketing research industry has an accepted
way to calculate a survey’s response rate.

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Nonresponse Error
CASRO response rate formula:

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Nonresponse Error
CASRO response rate formula:

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Dataset, Coding Data, and the Data
Code Book
A dataset is an arrangement of numbers (mainly)
in rows and columns.
The dataset is created by an operation called data
coding, defined as the identification of code
values that are associated with the possible
responses for each question on the questionnaire.

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Dataset, Coding Data, and the Data
Code Book
In large-scale projects, and especially in cases in
which the data entry is performed by a
subcontractor, researchers use a data code book
which identifies the following:
The questions on the questionnaire
The variable name or label that is associated
with each question or question part
The code numbers associated with each
possible response to each question
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Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 11-39
Data Quality Issues
What to look for in raw data inspection:
Incomplete response: an incomplete response
is a break-off where the respondent stops
answering in the middle of the questionnaire.
Nonresponses to specific questions (item
omissions)

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Data Quality Issues
What to look for in raw data inspection:
Yea-saying or nay-saying:
 A yea-saying pattern may be evident in the form of all
“yes” or “strongly agree” answers.
 The negative counterpart to the yea-saying is nay-
saying, identifiable as persistent responses in the
negative, or all “1” codes.
Middle-of-the-road patterns: the middle-of-
the-road pattern is seen as a preponderance of
“no opinion” responses or “3” codes.
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Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. 11-42
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